HOLIDAYS NO MORE

Wow, it's so difficult to get back into the swing of things after the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas were so enjoyable. I loved spending time with family. We talked, we played games, we opened gifts, we laughed, we cooked, we ate and we ate, and we ate. Is it possible to have a get together without a table laden with food in our midst?

Now it's the end of January. It's back to work, it's back to the gym, it's back to eating sensibly again.

A POWERFUL DRAMA

"And Then They Came For Me: Remembering The World of Anne Frank" was the play I attended last night at the local high school. The play interspersed onstage acted scenes with onscreen taped interviews with two holocaust survivors, Eva Schloss and Ed Silverberg. The lives of these two people actually intersected with the life of Ann Frank. Ed was mentioned in Ann's diary as an early love interest. Unfortunately, they only knew each other a few weeks before Ann's family went into hiding. Ann Frank's father, Otto, married Eva's mother after the war. Eva and Ed's recounting of their lives during the years preceding and during World War II was powerful and haunting. The actors portrayed significant events mentioned in the taped interviews. The audience was able to visualize the fear and terror and witness through the survivors' eyes the horror of those dark years. This was a powerful dramatization. The memories of the holocaust events were the memories of teenagers trapped in a war and dealing with hatred they could not understand. The teenage actors did an outstanding job. I'm sure it could not have been easy to make themselves the characters they portrayed. In the play program Mrs. Schloss is quoted, "I have watched very many performances and each time have been moved by the deeply felt interpretation of the young actors and their portrayal of the humiliation, degradation and pain our families had to endure."

As the audience left the theater, a student reminded us to "always remember".

Unfortunately man's inhumanity to man continues to occur around the world. Chouchou Namegabe from the Democratic Republic of Congo was a guest on Cspan this morning. Her accounts of women being raped and tortured in her country were astounding.

What will it take to stop the madness!

What happened to October? How could thirty one days breeze by so quickly! The fall color was absolutely gorgeous this year. The many overcast, rainy days were great for picture taking, not so great, however, for seeing sun shine highlight and warm the golds, reds and oranges. The beautiful leaf show lasted a couple of weeks, now it's clean-up time.

I like to shred my leaves and distribute them on my garden beds. A friend gave me a few bags of aged cow manure, so I'm going to mix this with the shredded leaves on the beds as well as add some to my compost container. My plants should appreciate the added nutrients.

I bought some half priced spring bulbs at Meijer. I wanted to plant them in a place where I could see them from my kitchen window. The area is a little shady but I hope they'll have enough sun to flower. I had to pull out some ground cover and prepare the soil a little. I planted tulips, crocus, and alliums then covered the area with chicken wire so the squirrels wouldn't dig up the bulbs.

I got all the summer bulbs dug and my containers moved into the basement a few weeks ago. The Brugmansias and Glory Flower are enjoying the grow lights in the basement, they're blooming like crazy.

On Friday I'll have help cutting back the remaining perennials and putting away summer furniture and garden art.

VICTORIAN FUNERAL TEA

Have you attended a Victorian Funeral Tea yet? If you have any interest at all in history you would enjoy this look back in time. At today's event a mourning culture historian from Crocker House Museum spoke about funeral wakes and the various foods that might be served. The wake itself or "watch" was held to make sure the deceased was really deceased and to pray in the presence of the body.
A Dutch tradition was to use a funeral cake to invite guests to a wake. This caraway and molasses biscuit (Doed Koek) was inscribed with the initials of the deceased. The Amish serve a raisin pie called "funeral pie". Prune cakes were on the menu for English wakes. Jewish funerals discouraged pomp so only hard boiled eggs with salt were offered to guests.
Our speaker also talked about embalming, mourning clothing, mourning periods, and many other traditions surrounding funerals.
After the tea we were transported to a local cemetery where several early city dignitaries are buried. Local townspeople portrayed six of these early residents as they told stories or highlighted significant events in their lives.

SAGE

Today I attended a small Pow Wow with some friends. As we waited for the grand entry of the dancers we noticed the distinctive smell of sage permeating the air. This led to the discussion of the importance of sage in Native American culture. Many tribes consider sage a sacred herb. To these Native Americans, the smoke from burning sage offers remedy for physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental imbalances. Sage is thought to cleanse the body and mind of negative spirits and impurities.

I thought it would be interesting to try sage smudging so I did some research.

Here are some basic directions.

You will need a heat proof container, or hollowed rock.

Tie the sage in a bundle or crumble the dried sage and place in the container.

Light the sage, let it flame for a minute or two then extinguish the flame so the sage is smoldering and smoking.

Take the smudge container and using circular clockwise movements, encircle yourself with the smoke.

Additionally, you can use a large feather to fan the smoke around the room.

Start at the most northerly room and work clockwise through the house

Try to end at an open door.

Smudging is a sacred ceremony and should always be performed with sensitivity and respect

A VISIT TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE

My two and a half year old granddaughter recently came to visit Grandma's house for the first time. Anticipating the curiosity of a toddler I had put all my cleaning products on a higher shelf and placed large breakables out of reach. BUT toddlers are resourceful. I had forgotten about my miniatures. What is more attractive to a toddler than something that seems to be their size.

Baby Shelley claimed my 3"x3" copy of "Romeo and Juliet"; my little pop-up flower book; my tiny tea sets. She was fascinated by the small piano and organ music boxes. She even asked if she could pound on them.

I was surprised when Baby decided my step stool would be her high chair. She easily recognized the stool would fit her perfectly and be the right height for the dining table.

Baby and Grandma had a great time playing tea party. Of course, she was the hostess. She determined if and when her guest would get a second cup of tea. We also had coffee using miniature campfire coffeepot and cups.

Needless to say, I'm anxiously looking forward to Baby's next visit.

JEWELS OF OPAR

Aha, I bet you thought this post would be about a new jewelry line on Etsy.

A former president of Park Seed who happened to be a lifelong Tarzan fan was responsible for the common name for Talinum paniculatum. Ever read Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar"?

Limon Talinum is a chartreuse leafed, succulent-looking plant that adds great color and dimension to my container gardens. It sends up a stem of pink flowers that result in delicate cinnamon colored seed pods that dance daintily above the attractive foliage.

According to my research Talinum is only hardy to zone 9. However, I found it self seeded in several of my containers. I've even found it growing in the cracks of my patio. I'm concerned this plant could become a pest despite it's attractiveness.

I'll give it one more year, then decide whether it will be love or war.